You Found Me II: Right and Wrong
by bowtruckle90
Summary: The continued story of Robin and Gemma, sequel to "You Found Me". Please read "YFM" before this segment or you will be a little lost on the history. Rated M for previous and/or future segments. I do not own the Teen Titans.


Gemma was in the middle of coloring her hair when the intercom in her new room came on. "Gemma, are you there?"

It was Robin. She walked toward the com and pressed a button with her elbow as it was free of dye. "Listen, if you're interested in another round it's going to have to wait; I've got another ten minutes before I need to rinse."

"No, not that," he responded, sounding a little panicked. "I've got something going on in here and I could use another set of hands. Are you free?"

Gemma groaned. "I said no. My hands are full of dye. Give me ten minutes."

"I don't have ten."

"Then ask someone else."

"Come on, it'll only take two seconds. Just take your gloves off and come over here. I don't trust anyone else to know about this."

Sighing in a frustrated tone, Gemma tore off her gloves knowing the colorant would stain her hadns when she got around to rinsing and opened her door to make her way down the hall towards Robin's room. He answered very quickly to her knock, only letting the door open enough to let her slide inside. Once she was there however, there was little she could have said.

All around the room were instruments of all kinds along with black and red leather clothing, and what she presumed to be unfinished weapons. After a moment, Gemma blinked and asked, "All right, I give, what the hell are you doing in here?"

"I have a plan," Robin said, pulling on a thick pair of gloves. "To get into Slade's favor and find out what he's hiding and who he is."

"Fantastic," she answered, sitting on the sofa arm and picking up the belt that was slung over it. "Care to tell me what the plan is?"

"I'm going to take on the identity of a new villain and perform tasks for Slade to prove my loyalty as an employ."

Gemma nodded. "Dangerous."

Robin lifted up a leaden box and opened the lid. He lifted out a cylinder of fluid no longer than a few inches and less than an inch in diameter. "And I'm going to power the suit with this."

Gemma looked his way and instantly stood up. "Are you off your nut? How can you possibly come to the conclusion that it's okay to power this suit with that stuff?"

Robin motioned for her to come closer and she did, still holding the belt and wearing a wary expression. "Because the tricks and weapons I'm developing have to be able to beat my own team. This was the surest way I could think of." While Gemma held the belt, Robin opened a compartment in it and slipped the vial inside. After closing the belt again and taking it from her, he said, "I need you to make sure that if I've underestimated everyone here you won't let them do me any harm. You'll tell them. But only, and I mean only, if I'm about to get myself killed."

Gemma sighed. "It's not them I'm worried about, it's Slade. This is the most reckless thing I've ever heard of, and I was conning mobsters and gamblers and loan sharks for two years. I've heard just about all of it. This takes the prize. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to know who he is, Gemma. If I have any chance of beating him I need to know."

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"Okay, I'm ready."

Gemma handed him the mask with a shake of her head. "I still don't like this, but I have to admit it is clever. Even I used to do appraisals for jewelry stores before we boosted the place to get a feel for the most important cases, the type of vault, the lining on the glass, security systems…"

Robin eyed her a little strangely. "I'll pretend I never heard any of that."

Realizing what it was she had been doing (profiling how to rob a jewelry store), Gemma responded flatly, "Thanks. Just be careful. As Red X you're a threat to everyone, the team, the guards even Slade until we convince him."

"Just make sure you don't take it easy on me."

"When have I ever?"

Robin slipped on the mask and turned to go, but before he slipped out the window and into the night, he turned back and kissed Gemma firmly. He drew back and upon seeing her concerned expression, laughed a little. "Don't worry, Gem, it'll all work out." Then he was gone.

Gemma sighed and stayed in the room, flipping through magazines until the alarm went off predictably about a half hour later. This was quite possibly the most irresponsible thing she had ever let any friend of hers do. Never mind letting Robin do it. She was sure he was capable of pulling this off with a normal villain, but in reading the files Robin had on Slade, it was a little more than concerning that he appeared to be as wily as Robin was.

He would have been upset, but Gemma wandered into Robin's office and started reading through everything he had on Slade. The clippings, the notes on his various drones and devices. Slade was a remarkably familiar to her. he was a lot like the men she had found herself accompanied by in the last year. And yet…something about the cunning, the determination to accomplish whatever it was he had spent so much money and resources on, reminded her of someone else. And that someone else was out there right now, trying to turn those traits against Slade. Gemma closed the folders and restacked them. She hoped Robin was going to be okay.

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"Nothing, lead was a dead end. I should get back to work."

The computer screen went blank from Robin's room. Gemma waited a moment sitting between BB and Cy, counting to twenty. When she had, she stood and stretched, saying it had been a long night and announced she was going to treat her wounds and catch a few winks. Cyborg got up and stopped her though, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Could you talk to Robin first? He's working way too hard. We're all worried about him, but you two have a history. Maybe he'll listen to you."

Gemma tried not to laugh. Cyborg was making her real intentions so much easier. However she hid her glee and shrugged. "We're still getting to know one another again, but I could try." She stepped around the couch and left the living room. She had a hard time feeling justified anymore. Beast Boy had been having Starfire cut gunk out of his hair after Starfire had been cut out of an x-shaped straight jacket. Gemma had had to reboot Cyborg herself and Raven had been silenced from her spell binding with an x-shaped gag. But what Robin had in mind for her had been the worst of all.

Robin had thrown a grenade in her direction. There was a burn on her forearms where she had protected her face, and shrapnel was embedded in her arm and chest. They had talked about how he couldn't take it easy on any of them, knowing Slade would be watching, but honestly, his gadget for her could have killed her. That didn't sit well in the bit of Gemma's stomach.

A few moments later, she was knocking on Robin's door. He opened and let her into his room. Gemma tried to conceal her irritation, but it slipped out in her opening comments. "Here's hoping that wasn't considered going easy."

"No." Robin said, returning to the couch from where he had apparently been fine tuning the belt on his suit. "Besides, I knew the first one would be easier than the others."

Gemma was confused. She went to Robin and sat herself on the coffee table, pushing aside some of Robin's tools and leaning forward so they were face to face. "What do you mean the first one? Slade didn't believe you?"

Robin shook his head. "Not right away. He wants two more chips before we talk turkey. Not unexpected."

He sounded so unconcerned. Like he didn't care the kind of toll this all was taking on the team. Nothing compared to the toll it would take if everyone else found out what they were doing. Robin hadn't even looked up from his work at the damage he had caused her. Gemma sighed and turned away to head for the door. "Wait," Robin called after her. Gemma did and Robin stood, walking over to her in his boxers and tee shirt. He took her hand and twisted her arm a bit and looked at her burns. Gemma had unzipped her jumpsuit a little and the tiny wounds there were visible. "Let me fix you up, Gemma." He walked backward and pulled her with him. "Come on."

He laid her down on the bed and went to the bathroom to collect the bandages and ointment. When he came back, Gemma had slipped out of the top of her jumpsuit and was slouching against the pillows. Robin sat beside her and applied burn cream to Gemma's arms after picking out the pieces of metal out of her skin with a pair of tweezers.

"I didn't think this would have done so much damage, Gemma, I'm sorry." Robin sounded sincere.

"You could have made it a little let debilitating, Robin. That grenade could have killed me."

"But it didn't." He started on the other arm.

"It could have, though. And if Starfire had been flying higher you could have seriously hurt her when she fell. Beast Boy could have suffocated and Cyborg, how do you know there's not a serious bug that could alter his programming? You're not a technical wiz."

Robin chuckled and started on the shrapnel in Gemma's chest. "Listen, I can't make this easy on you guys. It'll tip me off and then no one will fight to their potential. Even you were a little lackluster tonight."

"Maybe we should tell them. They could help…sssss." The ointment Robin applied stopped Gemma's lecture. Once he was done bandaging her arms, Robin sat back and let Gemma sit up. She gingerly slipped back into her suit top and zipped up. "Thanks."

She tried to get off the bed, but Robin rested a hand on her abdomen.

"I feel really isolated right now. I know it has to be this way while we play this out but…Can't you stay here tonight? I want you."

But Gemma shook her head. She pushed past him and walked to the door. "I'd love to Robin, but I'm too tired from keeping your secrets for you. I hope you know what you're doing."

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"Yikes, nice bruise."

Robin stroked the black and blue marks on Gemma's back, which were marring the slightly tanned skin. She sniffed and sat up. "Glad you like it. It's your own handiwork."

Robin sighed and rolled onto his side, propping up one side of his head with his left hand. "We talked about this. I can't treat you like I care. Any of you. Not when I'm in the suit. It won't be convincing."

"I know."

"One more chip and then we're in."

"And then what, Robin?" Gemma asked earnestly. "Then you'll be a partner of his; at his beck and call? Are you going to disappear? Are you going to leave again?" The words were out before she even realized what she was saying. Gemma sighed and sat up in bed and shrugged back into her nightshirt. After raking a hand through her hair she stood and pulled her shorts back on from where they had been discarded on the floor.

"Where are you going?"

Gemma walked toward the door. Gemma would have rathered her resolve last a little longer, but she couldn't help but to stop half way and turn around, arms crossed over her chest and chewing on her bottom lip, searching for the right words to describe what had become a very different kind of friendship.

"Robin…you know we've always been something a little more than friends. Ever since we were fourteen and fifteen years old, we've been…" Gemma didn't know how to find the right word so she simply dropped her sentence and picked up somewhere more direct. "These nights we spend together are wonderful, but if we're ever going to be something more than bed buddies, this kind of thing needs to stop."

Robin looked confused. "What kind of thing?"

"This sneaking around and—and getting me to lie for you! You got me to leave a life of crime and now it's like you're turning into one of them!" Gemma was exasperated. She threw her hands down in frustration and could feel her cheeks coloring. "Not to mention that fact that this whole 'I need to beat you up to make it look real' thing is no better than what he used to do to me. At least when he beat me he had a reason better than to show off to someone else how well he could beat me." And as suddenly as it came, the anger ebbed. She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed. "I can't be your lover and your cover. It's too much for me."

Gemma headed for the door again, but as it opened, Robin asked, sitting up straight in bed, "You're still going to be there tomorrow night right?"

"I'm running ops from here on out…until you get your sense of right and wrong back."

With that she left Robin alone to contemplate his most recent ventures.

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Gemma was watching the whole thing through a small camera on the belt Robin wore with his Red X suit. On the microphone connected to it, she had been about to out Robin when the others burst in, before someone killed him instead of following the drones to Slade. It didn't matter anymore if Robin was ousted or not, Slade had figured it out anyway. God only knew how.

In the end the team failed to catch Slade, and the man was still as elusive as ever. When they arrived back, as she suspected, no one was talking to Robin. She had warned him of that reality when everyone found out, and they would have. It was a matter of if not when. Gemma had warned him about a lot of things. Robin tried to retreat to his study, or whatever you wanted to call it, but he didn't get very far before everyone started in on him. Robin barely got a chance to explain. Gemma sighed and twirled her headset in her hands.

Robin actually had to walk out on some of the nastier comments. Starfire, who had said nothing about the incident until then, followed Robin a few minutes later and spoke with him. She had been more hurt than anything, not an ounce of anger really. And once she returned, there was nothing more to say. Everyone else retired in a huff. Gemma intended on doing the same, but after almost an hour of staring into the night skyline of Jump and asking herself what the next step was, she found herself descending into the basement and heading for the vault in which Robin had been keeping all the components for the suit while he was working on them. Like she thought, he was there, putting everything away.

Robin didn't even turn around when she approached. "I'm assuming that just because Red X is finished doesn't mean we can pick things back up, right?"

Gemma walked up to the vault and leaned against it, arms crossed, waiting. She knew Robin would continue and he did. "You were right. About everything. This was a dangerous idea. It got you hurt, the whole team hurt. I lost their trust as a leader and as a friend. I'll never do anything like that again."

"I'm sure you won't. There's a great reason for keeping this monstrosity of a suit." She eyed it with a look of concern on her face.

Robin wouldn't meet her eye. "You never know when Red X might come in handy again."

Gemma stood straight and stepped close to Robin, laying a hand on his shoulder as he placed the final items in their holders.

"I'm not mad Robin, I just need some space. I'm not sure that being together is right for us. I mean, when we were kids it was one thing. We could fool around all we wanted as long as the League didn't find out about it. We had all the time in the world. But things have changed. There are other people depending on us these days and like it or not we all depend on one another."

"I realize that more than ever, believe me." Robin turned to Gemma. She could now see his face. He looked haggard and worn. He'd been beating himself up ever since they got back, regardless of the emotional beating he had received from everyone else. She had to protect herself, but Gemma now realized that she now had to protect Robin as much as she could. She pulled him into an embrace.

"You're someone who is careful about the things he shares, mostly for the best, but sometimes to your fault. I feel like you will always have things you're going to hide form people, even me. I could live with it for a while, but then I already have and…" she paused. "People can't be together that way. Not forever. All it does is breed mistrust."

Gemma pushed back and rested a hand on Robin's cheek. He covered her hand with his own, and Gemma leaned in close as he bowed his head. Their foreheads rested against one another. After a moment, Gemma retreated.

Robin closed the vault with a heavy sigh and walked through the rest of the basement. He passed box after box. Most of it was items he had catalogued after their encounters with villains. He passed one after another until he happened upon a box with his name on it, not more than a few rows in. Robin kneeled beside it and brushed the dust off. Once opened the box revealed its contents. There were pictures, mostly of him and Gemma and Bruce was in a few of them. He also had some of her notes they had written to one another when they were at the training center.

Gemma was right. He was a private person, but to love someone right you needed to be open. Completely and honestly. He didn't know if he would ever be able to change that trait. Maybe one day, but it was the uncertainty that was twisting a knot in his stomach now. He wanted Gemma, wanted everything they could be. But could he change to suit her? Could he be everything Gemma needed? Robin was sure he could be. He just needed a place to start.

Robin deposited the trinkets in his lap back into the box. His last question had an easy answer. Robin would never exploit her again. She's lived through enough of that, he thought as he climbed the stairs back to the upper floors. Gemma had been emotionally exploited and physically abused. Robin could start by never doing anything resembling that life ever again. Red X was a horrible idea, and that idea was going to stay locked up for the rest of time, in reality and in spirit.


End file.
